DELINQUENCY BALANCE: REVISITING PEER INFLUENCE*

An impressive number of inquiries across an array of methodological specifications has demonstrated that deviant peers are an important correlate of various criminological outcomes, which include within- individual change and stability in offending behavior. Still, the causal mechanisms of peer influence arguably remain underdeveloped (Giordano, 2003; Warr, 2002). In an attempt to expand the dialogue on the nature of peer influence, this inquiry proposes that scholars would benefit from considering relative peer deviance in addition to exposure to deviant peers. Specifically, it argues that an imbalance in delinquency between friends helps to explain delinquency change/stability; therefore, exposure to deviant peers is not always risky and exposure to less deviant peers is not always protective. The analysis uses the Add Health data to construct within-individual and across-individual (delinquency) difference scores and relies on self-reports rather than on perceptions for the best friends' delinquency. The results provide support for the premise that adolescents attempt to achieve delinquency “balance” with their best friend by changing behavior, net of raw peer deviance levels (i.e., objective exposure). The findings also suggest that balance is not achieved through selection, given that the deviance gap between the respondent and his or her best friend does not predict friendship stability. The discussion considers these results from a theoretical and empirical perspective and offers several avenues for future research.